Darren Gaffney head coach for our u8 academy squad shares his thoughts on why he chooses to coach Futsal and not Football.
When people hear the word ‘Futsal’ its fair to say you would not normally think “England” as the first country to enter your mind. Perhaps the gut reaction might be “Brazil”, “Spain”, “Argentina” etcThe big part of why i personally got involved in Futsal was the fact i loved all the flicks, tricks, quick thinking, decision making, constant movement and the sheer tactical awareness every player needs to play this game at the highest level. Now that is at the highest level. Going to the level that we teach as coaches at Carlisle Futsal i have learned that the basics you learn at the early stages of futsal can actually put you a step ahead in football.
It may sound strange but we have kids as young as 5 in our academy now that are mastering the basics in ball control, passing and confidence in possession. Young kids craving the ball, wanting the ball and it sticks to their feet like glue. The point I’m making is the example i use all the time when explaining to people who no nothing about the game of Futsal is just look around other counties in the world.
It is widely regarded as hugely influential in the early development of technical excellence by luminaries of football such as Messi, Ronaldo, Coutinho, Neymar etc, countries the likes of Argentina, Spain, Brazil etc, all have used futsal as their starting tool in their careers to make themselves the Football players they are today.
It is not a coincidence that the most talented Football players in the world are all from a futsal background. Its a fact that futsal works and is proven, not just in individual players but as a nation.
These few examples I’ve used in this piece are just proven points that in my opinion futsal should play a major part in all kids starting out not just in futsal but in the long run can complement the most complete footballer aswell. Which ends with an answer to my opening question “why we choose futsal over football? Because futsal in the early development stages for a kid provides everything football does and more. When the two come together at a later stage the stand out players seem to be the ones with the futsal background. Futsal is very slowly picking up in England but not at the speed it should be. Just look at these other countries around the world compared to Englands national team and you can see for yourself, the proof is in the pudding we have very few technically gifted footballers in this country beyond the Premier league elite. Futsal is the future!
Cheers Daz
